


Challenger

by kandrona



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Interrupted Dates, Post-Game(s), Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 05:10:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13674912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kandrona/pseuds/kandrona
Summary: They always knew they would see each other again.





	Challenger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShamanicShaymin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShamanicShaymin/gifts).



Moon recalled Primarina—her last Pokemon standing—and collapsed backward into the champion's throne in shock. More than a year as Alola's uncontested champion, and now it was over.

And she'd lost to someone she'd never expected.

Lillie's hands covered her mouth. Her eyes were wide. "Are—are you okay? I'm sorry!"

Moon sat up straight. "Huh? Wh—no, I'm fine! Don't apologize!"

Lillie recalled her Clefable and stepped up to Moon's throne. "Oh. You just seemed... upset."

"I'm not upset." Moon smiled. "I'm just surprised. And... and a little relieved, I guess."

"Relieved?"

"Oh, you'll see." Leaning back into the throne—possibly for the last time—Moon smirked. "It's tiring, accepting all the challengers who come to you. You'll have to fight with _everything_ you have, and you have to drop whatever you're doing when you get the message that someone is challenging the Elite Four." How many times had she been awoken from a dead sleep, dragged herself to Mount Lanakila on the back of one Flying Pokemon or another, only to find that the challenger had lost to one of the Elite Four and she wasn't needed? She wasn't sure if that was better or worse than actually having to fight.

"...huh. I guess I never thought of that." Lillie smiled. "Well, maybe I'll lose to the next person. I only _really_ came here because I wanted to see _you_ , Moon."

That wasn't much of a surprise. If Lillie had _only_ wanted to challenge herself as a trainer, she could have fought the Kanto Elite Four and champion. And yet here she was, all the way back in Alola.

"It's been so long since we saw each other," Lillie continued. "And... and you wrote back to me at first, but after a while you stopped replying to my letters—I thought maybe yours just got lost, but then Hau and Gladion and everyone said you were so busy and _they_ hadn't heard from you either, and..."

Moon's shoulders slumped. "Oh."

"I'm sorry." Lillie straightened her back and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I didn't mean to guilt-trip you—"

"It's fine. I loved reading your letters. I always meant to write back, but..."

"Being the champion really takes a lot out of you, huh?"

Moon nodded.

Lillie looked down at the floor. She shuffled her feet. "So... do I have to stay here? Or could we maybe... go do something together?"

Typical Lillie. Moon giggled and hopped to her feet. "There's some paperwork we'll need to fill out, but it's really quick. Where did you have in mind?"

 

Not many places in Alola were more private than Exeggutor Island. Moon and Lillie sat together, huddled in the cave where they had hidden together from the rain once, so long ago.

"Squirt was my first Pokemon in Kanto," Lillie said. She patted the Blastoise's shell and it nuzzled against her fondly. Then she nodded to the Clefable sitting in her lap. "And this is Tsuki."

Moon nodded excitedly. "I remember the pictures you sent me. Man, they've really grown, huh?"

Lillie grinned. "I was so excited when I got to Mount Moon. Hey, you never answered my question—were you born there? Is that why—"

Moon cringed. "No, I wasn't _born_ there. But my mom and dad went there on vacation a few months _before_ I was born."

Lillie shrieked. "No way!"

Despite how much she despised the subject, Moon couldn't help laughing. She knew it was absurd.

Once they had both calmed down, Lillie asked, "So... how's Nebby?"

Moon reached into her bag for a certain Poke Ball. "I don't use it in Pokemon League battles, but it's doing just fine. Come on out, Nebby!" She tossed the ball, and the Lunala appeared. It stretched its wings and, upon seeing Lillie, trilled out an enthused cry.

"Nebby!" Tsuki practically toppled over as Lillie leapt off the ground to embrace Nebby. And Nebby's broad wings did their best to hug her back.

Squirt, Tsuki, and Lillie's other Kanto Pokemon—Tweeter the Pidgeot, Blaze the Ninetales, Kismet the Chansey, and Blobby the Muk—all watched the display curiously. Lillie released Nebby, though she kept one hand on its wing, and turned back toward her Pokemon. "Guys," she said, "this is somebody I'd like for you all to meet."

 

It was only the next evening when Lillie received her first challenge. She and Moon were sitting opposite one another at Mallow's family's restaurant. They had just started in on their appetizer when a high-pitched jingling sound emanated from Lillie's backpack.

Lillie gasped. "What is that sound?!"

Moon groaned. "It's your pager."

"Oh—the one you gave me after I... right, o-okay!" Lillie leaned over to fish the pager out of her backpack. It was a very simple device; round, colored like a Poke Ball, with a simple display that read: "A CHALLENGER APPROACHES".

Moon rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin up in her hand. "This sucks..."

Lillie's eyes were wide and watery. "But we were just getting started!"

"That's how it is." Moon sighed. "You go on ahead. I'll ask the kitchen to hold on to the rest of our meal."

"That's how it is, huh..." Lillie repeated. Her grip on the pager tightened and she nodded. She stood up, gathered her backpack, and nodded to Moon. "I'll... I'll be back as soon as I can."

Seeing Lillie stand tall, so determined, made Moon's resentment melt away. Moon smiled and nodded back. "I'll be waiting."

She didn't say _"good luck"_.

It wasn't luck that had made Lillie Alola's second champion.


End file.
